


Second Chances

by AbschaumNo1



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Fluff, Getting Back Together, Kid Fic, M/M, does it make sense? who knows, high school sweethearts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-11
Updated: 2019-02-11
Packaged: 2019-10-26 13:16:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17746595
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AbschaumNo1/pseuds/AbschaumNo1
Summary: What Dylan and Alex didn't expect when they introduced their dads to each other was that they already knew each other.What neither Brent, not Duncan expected was to find out that things in their lives might have gone differently.





	Second Chances

**Author's Note:**

> So back in January the Hawks posted [ this](https://twitter.com/NHLBlackhawks/status/1087752250808782848) on Twitter and I looked at it and kinda went "This looks like Dylan and Alex brought their dads to their fun hockey date, just to realise that they used to know each other and also that they were kind of a thing so now their dads are stuck with them while also wondering if they could maybe get to know each other because they may have been young back then but they also were good together."  
> And then I somehow managed to figure out how to make it work and went ahead and wrote it. Lots of handwaving included.

When Alex had suggested to introduce their dads to each other, Dylan had been right on board. He knew Alex loved his dad, and while Dylan himself had mostly lived with his mom and stepdad since the divorce, he was still close to his own dad, and he was fairly sure they’d hit it off with each other.

So they had organised tickets to a Hawks game, bullied their dads into both coming along and looked forward to a fun evening.

What neither of them had expected was the shocked looks on their dads’ faces when they all met up in front of the UC.

Alex looked between them with a frown and said, “You two know each other?”

There was a moment where their dads just looked at each other, and Dylan was fairly sure there was a conversation going on there, before Alex’ dad said, “You could say that.”

There was a hint of something flickering through Dylan’s dad’s eyes, but it was gone before Dylan could be sure what it was. His dad swallowed.

“I didn’t know you moved to Chicago,” he said.

“Things happened,” Alex’ dad said easily, and then he stepped in and pulled Dylan’s dad into a quick hug. “It’s good to see you again, Duncs.”

Dylan’s dad smiled. “You too, Seabsieboy.”

 

The slight tension didn’t fully defuse, even though Dylan caught their dads getting into an in-depth discussion of both teams’ defensive play. Still, as soon as the buzzer for the end of the first period sounded, Dylan was pulling Alex out of his seat.

“We’re just gonna get drinks real quick,” he told their dads in passing.

As soon as they were out of earshot he threw Alex a look and asked, “Did you have any idea?”

Alex shook his head. “None whatsoever.”

“It must have been a long time ago.” Dylan frowned. “Duncs was my dad’s hockey nickname and he hasn’t played since before I was born.”

Alex squeezed his hand. “We’ll see what we can get out of them, okay?”

“Okay. Now what do you want to drink?”

By the time the game ended with a Hawks win, Dylan was fairly sure their dads had taken apart every aspect of the game they could, but there had been very little talk about anything other than hockey between them. It wasn’t quite the success Dylan and Alex had hoped for, but it was definitely something.

 

Brent knew he had been weird at the hockey game. He just hadn’t expected to see Duncs there. Of all the people from his past, Duncs had been the last one he expected to see again in Chicago. The odds that Duncs’ happened to be Dylan’s dad were just so slim, and Dylan’s last name decidedly wasn’t Keith.

Alex kept throwing him looks on the entire drive back home, and while he knew better than to ask any questions while they were still in the car, Brent guessed he’d have to come up with an explanation sooner or later, so it was probably better to figure out what to tell him now.

Alex gave him until after they got home and had taken off their shoes and coats.

“So you and Duncan,” he said casually.

Brent shrugged. “We knew each other in high school. We played hockey together. But he was a year above me and after he graduated we kinda lost contact.” It wasn’t even half of what Duncs had meant to him back then, but it was all he was willing to share right now. He had no idea how much Duncs would want to tell the kids, and until he figured that out, he wasn’t going to say anything more.

He could see that Alex at least suspected that he wasn’t telling him everything, but his son also knew when he wouldn’t get anything more out of him, so he dropped the topic.

Which only left figuring out how to talk to Duncs.

 

When Duncan came into work on Monday morning, Sharpy was already waiting by the front desk. He handed Duncan a cup of coffee and walked with him to his office in blessed silence, but clearly eager to start up the questions. For a moment Duncan considered not closing the door to his office, but he knew that Sharpy had no problems discussing his private life where the entire firm could hear them. It was a lesson he had learned a long time ago when they had met in college, and he wouldn’t make the same mistake again.

So Duncan closed the door, and turned to Sharpy, who was somehow already lounging in one of the visitor’s chairs in front of Duncan’s desk.

“So,” Sharpy said, “meeting the kiddo’s boyfriend’s dad. How did it go?”

Duncan shrugged and put his coffee down. “How was it supposed to go?”

“That bad, eh?”

Duncan rolled his eyes. “It was okay, I guess. He’s…” He trailed off, because he had no idea how to finish that sentence. Nice didn’t feel right, and everything else was either a lie or wrapped up in too many emotions or not his place anymore.

Across from him Sharpy raised an eyebrow, still waiting, and Duncan hurried to say, “Nice. He’s nice.”

“Nice,” Sharpy repeated, eyebrow still raised.

“Yes, nice.”

“And nothing else? No embarrassing clothing choices, or horrible teeth, or terrible hair?”

And Sharpy couldn’t know this, but all of those were dangerous territory right now. Duncan had always loved Seabs’ hair, even with the unfortunate haircuts of their youth, and this new, older version of Seabs had hair that made Duncan want to run his fingers through it; and his teeth reminded him of what kissing him had been like, and Duncan wasn’t sure he was ready to go there again. He stopped himself there, because he really needed to reply to Sharpy’s question before he got even more suspicious than he already was.

“No, none of that,” he said, but he knew that it was already too late.

“Okay. Then what is it that has you so cagey?”

Duncan sighed and ran a hand over his face.

“Seabs,” he said. “It was Seabs.”

Sharpy looked surprised. “Seabs? As in ‘We-went-to-high-school-together’-Seabs? The same Seabs that had you heartbroken all through freshman year of college?”

“That very same Seabs.” Duncan swallowed. “And I wasn’t heartbroken.”

“One of those statements is a lie, and I don’t think it’s the first one.”

“Ugh whatever. Anyways, it turns out that Seabs has a kid and a job in Chicago, and that his kid is dating my kid.”

“So how awkward was it to tell Dylan that you used to date his boyfriend’s dad?”

“I haven’t told him yet. I…I don’t know what Seabs told Alex, and I don’t want to have Dylan tell Alex something Seabs doesn’t want him to know.”

“Maybe you two should talk about that then,” Sharpy said mildly. “From everything you told me, you two were friends first. Maybe focus on that. And I’m sure Dylan can get you his number.”

“Yeah,” Duncan said. “Yeah, I’ll do that.”

 

Dylan and his dad tried to have lunch at least once a week. It used to be dinner when Dylan was still in high school, but now that he was in college, lunch worked just as well. It was their thing. Dylan knew part of why his dad had started doing this was that he had wanted to make sure Dylan knew that he was important to him, even with the divorce that Dylan barely even remembered anymore. And that was why even when he had felt rebellious he had still sat through dinner with his dad. It helped that neither of his parents had ever hid from him why they got divorced. He understood that it had been the best decision for all of them, and he was fine with that. After all it got him an awesome stepdad, a half-brother and a step brother, and three sets of grandparents to bother. Plus parents who were still friendly with each other. Not everyone got that much.

This week he was really looking forward to lunch with his dad, because it meant he could finally dig into what had happened at the hockey game last weekend.

He passed Sharpy on the way in and got his hair ruffled in passing as usual, but also a pensive look that made him raise an eyebrow. But Sharpy just smiled and kept walking, and Dylan didn’t have time to worry about Sharpy anyways.

His dad was still reading a file when Dylan entered, but he smiled when he looked up.

“Give me a second and we can go,” he said.

“I can wait,” Dylan replied easily and sat down on the couch.

And really it didn’t take long. He had barely managed to text Alex an update and open Twitter, when his dad put his pen down and got up.

They talked about college and Dylan updated him on everything that was going on at home as they walked down the block and to their favourite lunch spot.

Dylan waited until they had their food before he broached the subject that had been burning under his nails since the weekend.

“So Alex’ dad,” he said.

His dad raised an eyebrow. “What about Alex’ dad?”

“You two know each other.”

“Knew each other would be more accurate, but yes,” he said with a shrug. He paused for a moment but then he continued, “He was a year below me in high school. We were D-partners on the hockey team. Played pretty well together, too.”

“And?”

“Nothing and.” His dad rolled his eyes. “We were friends, but when I graduated and went off to college we lost contact. I had no idea he had moved to Chicago or that he had a kid.”

“So that’s it?”

“Really, Dyl, that’s it. Last weekend was the first time we’ve seen each other since the summer I graduated from high school.” He watched Dylan for a moment before adding. “If there was anything else I could tell you, I would.”

Dylan narrowed his eyes at him, because he knew his dad, and he knew when his dad wormed his way out of saying or not saying something. It happened often enough that Dylan knew all the subtleties. If there hadn’t been anything else to tell he would have said that, but this? This was his dad’s way of telling him that he wouldn’t say more, and that he’d prefer it if Dylan didn’t ask any more questions, because he didn’t want to lie to him. He filed that away to analyse later. Maybe his dad would tell him more eventually.

He was about to change the topic when his dad said, “Can you do me a favour though?”

“Yeah sure, what do you need?”

“Can you maybe ask Alex for Seabs’ number or give him mine if you see him? I’d like to catch up with him.”

Dylan laughed. “No need to go through Alex for that. I’ll send it to you.”

His dad looked surprised. “You have his number?”

“Sure I have.” Dylan shrugged. “For emergencies and when Alex phone runs out of battery. Alex has yours and mom’s, too.”

“Oh yeah that makes sense.”

“I’ll send it to you later, no worries.”

Dylan’s dad nodded, but there was something pensive about him, and the plot had definitely thickened.

 

A few days later Duncan was sitting in the exact same spot as during his lunch with Dylan. It was a little over ten minutes into his lunch break and he was waiting.

He had texted Seabs the evening after he talked to Dylan, trying not to get too nervous about maybe overstepping a line. It was Seabs, he told himself, and they really needed to talk.

And now Seabs was late. Duncan resisted the urge to check his phone again. With any other guy he probably wouldn’t have waited this long, but well, it was Seabs.

Before he could give in and check his phone after all, the door opened and Seabs came in. He looked like he had hurried to get here. It threw Duncan back to their high school years. All the times Brent had hurried to reach Duncan’s car after school, just so they could take off and have a little more time before they were expected at home. Time they used to make a stop on the way to kiss and talk without worrying that their teammates might see them.

“I’m sorry,” Brent said as he sat down. “There was an accounting problem that they couldn’t wait with until after lunch for some reason.”

“It’s fine,” Duncan said and Brent smiled.

They were silent as they picked their food, and it was a little less awkward than during the hockey game when they had had no idea what to say to each other, but Duncan still had to suppress the urge to shift in his seat too much. Once they had ordered their food Brent leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table.

“You wanted to talk,” he said.

Duncan nodded. “Yeah. I… I was wondering about what we’d tell the kids.”

Brent smiled wryly. “Dylan asked?”

“Don’t tell me Alex didn’t.”

“Yeah okay.” Brent laughed. “We barely got home before he started actually.”

Duncan had to grin. “I got a couple days before it was my turn at least.”

Brent was still smiling. “What’d you tell him?”

“The basics.” Duncan shrugged. “We went to the same high school, played together, lost contact after I graduated.

“Same as me then,” Brent said with a nod. “I didn’t want to make things awkward for you in case you didn’t want Dylan to know.”

“Yeah me too.”

They both lapsed into silence, before Brent said, “So how much _do_ you want them to know?”

Duncan shrugged again. “I’m fine with telling them if you are. I try not to hide any of the important stuff from Dylan. Not since the divorce.”

“He was what, five?”

“Four,” Duncan corrected. “We decided back then that it was better to be honest with him. Better he knew we still loved him and that I would always be there when he needed me, than him getting any ideas in his head that it was his fault.” Duncan had to smile softly. “We sat him down and explained that we had decided it was better for all of us if his mom and I got the divorce, because I preferred men. He was sad at first, but if he’s ever held it against me he hasn’t shown it.”

There was a fond smile on Brent’s face. “For what it’s worth, he’s never said a bad word about you where I could hear it. When he came over for the first time and I asked him about his family he got really excited and told me all about how awesome you are, and how you’d always made sure to make time for him.” Brent grinned all of a sudden. “If he had told me it was you he was talking about, I would have said that there was no way Duncan Keith was that awesome, not with the kind of hair he rocked in high school.”

Duncan grinned. “As if you got any room for talking, eh? You had your fair share of embarrassing haircuts. And I’m surprised there was anything other than cheese nachos in Alex’s diet.”

“Cheese nachos are an essential food group.”

They both had to laugh then. They had had some form of this very same conversation countless times back when they still knew each other. It seemed that some things just didn’t change.

They were about to say goodbye when Brent paused and said, “So…don’t take this the wrong way. I don’t want either of us to lie. Just…can we wait a bit before telling Alex and Dylan? It’s… I just I think I’d like to get reacquainted first.”

“No it’s…it’s fine. Let’s figure out who we are now first before we spill the beans.”

Brent smiled, relieved. “It’s good to have ya back you know?”

Duncan returned the smile. “It’s good to have you back too.”

Brent pulled him into a quick one-armed hug. “I’ll text you,” he promised, before they split up to get back to their respective offices.

 

Brent was still smiling when he got back to his office after his lunch with Duncs. It was nice talking to his best friend again, even if he hadn’t seen said best friend in decades. Talking to Duns still felt as easy as it always had.

And maybe, just maybe, Brent couldn’t stop wondering about where this would lead them.

Jonny was already waiting for him in his office when he entered.

“So how did it go?” he asked.

Brent rolled his eyes at him. “Well apart from the fact that I was late because of you, it went great.”

Jonny shrugged, unrepentant, which was what Brent had expected if he was honest.

“If he’s not willing to wait he’s not worth it,” Jonny said.

“It’s not about him being worth it.” Brent rolled his eyes again. “It’s our sons who are dating not us.”

“But it could be you.”

“Jesus, Jonny. We dated in high school. We haven’t even seen each other since then.”

“That doesn’t mean you couldn’t get back together.”

“We were best friends first. If we get back anywhere close to that that’s already pretty damn much.”

“You can’t know that that’s all that‘s gonna happen though.”

Brent watched Jonny for a moment. “Why is this so important to you?” he asked finally.

Jonny closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “It’s just…you deserve to be happy, you know? And ever since you met him again and started talking to him again you have seemed happier than before. Hell, you haven’t stopped smiling since you came back. I just want things to work out for you.” He shrugged and gave Brent a crooked smile. “I’m being weird about it though, eh?”

Brent had to smile as he said, “You’re maybe a little too focused on one particular outcome, but it’s not like that’s news. Things will work out one way or another, there’s no use in stressing about it now.”

Jonny nodded. “So what did he want?”

“He just wanted to talk about what we tell Alex and Dylan,” Brent replied with a shrug. “We agreed that we will tell them, but we also want to get to know each other better again before we do.”

“That sounds sensible.”

“Yeah. And it gives us time to figure out what exactly to tell them about our past.”

“Good luck man.” Jonny reached over to give Brent a fist bump, and Brent laughed. He knew he could count on him.

 

So lunches with Duncs turned into a regular thing after that. It didn’t take them long to establish to go out for lunch together at least once a week. And the more time they spent together the more familiar they grew with each other again.

Brent learned all about how Duncs had met Sharpy at college and the woman who was now his ex-wife, and how he had finally, after years of telling himself he was into women, realised that he was gay and that if he wanted to be happy, he needed to stop denying it.

And Brent told Duncs all about how he had made a drunk mistake when he had slept with Alex’ mother, but hadn’t even found out that that one mistake was enough to make him a father until Alex had been three and his mom had died unexpectedly, but not before making sure that Brent was listed as Alex’ father and that he would be contacted in the case of her death.

“And you took one look at Alex and knew ya had to raise him the best ya could,” Duncs guessed.

Brent nodded. “Yeah. He was three and he was alone and I honestly didn’t care about anything else at that moment. It wasn’t always easy, but I would make that same decision in a heartbeat.”

Duncs nodded as if that was exactly what he had expected.

“You did a great job,” he said. “Alex is a great kid.”

“Thank you.” Brent smiled.

 

And then one day Duncs invited him over to his place.

For some reason it surprised Brent, and maybe he took a bit too long to reply because Duncs quickly added, “Ya know, I thought we could watch the game together and Alex and Dylan could have the evening on their own like this.”

Brent laughed. “No need to come up with excuses. We’re not in high school anymore.”

“Thank god we’re not. You look much better now.”

“Right back at ya.” Brent grinned at him and didn’t think about how they were toeing the line here. Were they just chirping each other or were they actually flirting? And perhaps even more importantly, which did he want it to be?

 

Duncan couldn’t say that he had planned to invite Seabs over to watch the game. It had been a spur of the moment decision. He had just looked at Brent, and decided that he wanted to spend more time with him. The game was as good an excuse as anything. And… hockey had been what had brought them together in high school, it had been involved in them meeting again now, and maybe it would help them figure out where to go. A guy could hope at least.

He was nervous before Seabs arrived. It wasn’t like there was any reason to be nervous, but Duncan told himself until the last second that Seabs would decide not to come after all, or that Seabs would take one look at him and decide that they wanted this to be different things and that he would leave again.

And it was dumb, because really Duncan didn’t even know himself what exactly he wanted this to be, so how was Seabs supposed to figure it out, but he couldn’t help it.

He was pacing across his living room when there was a knock on the door. Seabs was right on time this time, and he smiled when Duncan opened the door for him. He was wearing a hoodie and jeans instead of the suit he wore to work, and it made him look different, softer, more relaxed. He gave Duncan a welcome hug, and it took all of Duncan’s concentration to stop himself from sinking into it the way he really wanted, and to pull Seabs in and not let him go for the rest of the evening at least.

His smile after was soft and fond and Duncan wasn’t quite sure what to do with that.

They ordered food and then Duncan pulled out the cheese nachos that were his trump card.

Brent laughed and asked, “Do you realise that I’m not 16 anymore and that I eat other foods than cheese nachos?”

“Stop acting grown up and eat your nachos. You love nachos.” Duncan rolled his eyes. Seabs could pretend all he wanted, but Duncan had his ways and he had done his research. And if Seabs’ smirk and the fact that he immediately grabbed the entire bowl and started eating were any indication his sources were right.

Watching the game itself was almost painfully familiar. They had done this so often when they had played together, and just like last time it took them no time at all to get back into their old routines and take apart both teams. It was fun, and despite all the time they had missed out on it was more than easy to slip back into chirping each other. Duncan could really get used to this again.

And then…

“Even you would have had that,” Duncan said when the Hawks defence made a glaringly obvious mistake. He didn’t think about it, it was an old joke between them. What he had forgotten though was Brent’s usual reaction to it, so he didn’t quite expect it when he got tackled with an indignant squawk.

It devolved into a wrestling match almost immediately with both of them grinning wildly. Finally, Brent pinned Duncan underneath him, a triumphant smile on his face.

They were close, too close maybe, and all of a sudden the atmosphere between them was different, more charged than before. Brent was still smiling, but it was softer, more fondly, and suddenly all Duncan was aware of was all the points where they were touching. He watched as Brent swallowed and he was about to do something potentially stupid when the Hawks scored and Brent broke out of it and moved away. His fingers lingered, trailing over Duncan’s sweater, and for a moment Duncan considered grabbing him and yanking him in to kiss him. But before he could make up his mind, Brent had sat back down on his side of the couch and Duncan took a deep breath and sat back up as well. They didn’t mention it for the rest of the evening.

Brent was about to leave when he stopped and said, “Wanna have dinner and tell the kids next week? I’ll cook.”

“Yeah,” Duncan said. “I think it’s time.”

Brent smiled. “Cool. I’ll see you on Thursday for lunch.”

“Until then.” Duncan stepped in and Brent accepted his hug easily. It wasn’t nearly enough, Duncan thought. Not after tonight.

 

Alex could see that his dad was nervous. It was weird, because they were just having dinner with Dylan and his dad, and Alex had no idea what there was to be nervous about. He knew that their dads had gotten more comfortable with each other again, and while they hadn’t said anything about it yet, he and Dylan were fairly sure that they had renewed their old friendship.

When Dylan and Duncan arrived, Alex watched his dad. He greeted Dylan first, but when he greeted Duncan there was maybe the slightest hint of hesitation, as if he wasn’t sure how to go about this, before he reached out and pulled him into a hug. Alex wasn’t sure if he saw right, but he was fairly certain that they both sank into it a little. He definitely saw how their hands lingered when they parted. Judging by the look Dylan shot him he had seen it, too.

By the time they sat down for dinner any hints of awkwardness were gone. Their dads looked relaxed, easily feeding off each other with chirps and stories.

Some tension seeped back into the conversation towards the end. Alex could see his dad and Duncan have a silent conversation.

He didn’t have to wonder what this was about for long though, because as soon as they were all done their dads both leaned back and exchanged one last look before Alex’ dad said, “So there’s something we wanted to talk to you about.”

Alex and Dylan exchanged a look of their own, and Dylan shrugged.

“Yeah?” Alex prompted.

“You know that we knew each other in high school.”

“Yeah. You played hockey together, right?” Dylan said, looking between them.

They nodded. “Yes,” Duncan said. “And we were best friends. Or at least that’s what we were in the beginning and what we wanted everyone else to believe.” He hesitated. “But actually we were more than that.”

“What Duncs is trying to say is that we were in love with each other and that we were together until he graduated and we broke up.”

“Huh,” Dylan said. “I can’t say that I expected that.” He turned to Alex. “Did you?”

But Alex had been working out something completely different. “Everything makes so much more sense now,” he said. He got confused looks from the others, but he focussed on his dad. “Remember when I started wearing number 12 when I played hockey and you got all weird about it?”

His dad blinked. “I wasn’t weird about it.”

“Yes you were.” Alex rolled his eyes at him. “And back then I didn’t think too much of it. But Duncan, you wore 2, didn’t you?”

“I did, but how is that relevant?” Duncan still looked confused.

“Because maybe it had a one in front of it, but I was essentially wearing your number,”

“Huh.” Duncan turned to Alex’ dad and gave him a look that Alex couldn’t even begin to decipher.

“I still wasn’t weird about it,” Alex’ dad protested, but it was weak and Alex didn’t think anyone really believed him.

“So why did you really break up?” Dylan asked finally.

Duncan shrugged. “I’m not sure there really was a reason. We were young, it just kind of happened.”

“You’re being too nice about this,” Alex’ dad said. “The truth is that I was an idiot and thought you should not have me stopping you from having fun in college. And well, I thought it would be better to do it quickly rather than wait for the other shoe to drop.”

“Ya did say that, yeah,” Duncan conceded. “And I think I told ya that ya were being ridiculous.”

“I was stubborn.” Alex’ dad shrugged.

“And we were both young and stupid.”

Alex’ dad smiled. “I think I regretted it as soon as you were gone.”

“And if ya had said just one thing ya would have had me back.” Duncan looked serious, and somehow Alex got the feeling that this was something they hadn’t talked about before. They both masked it well, but it was obvious that they had surprised each other.

And well, whatever happened from here was anyone’s guess.

 

Brent was deep in thought all day when he was back at work the Monday after. He just couldn’t get what Duncs had said out of his head.

 _If ya had said just one thing ya would have had me back_.

He wanted to confront him, wanted to ask him why he had never said anything, why he hadn’t tried. It wasn’t like their parents had moved away or like they never visited home, even once Brent had gone off to college himself. But Duncs had been so fucking respectful of Brent’s wishes he hadn’t even tried to stay in contact after. And Brent himself… well with Duncs not even attempting to stay friends he had been too hurt to make the step himself. It had felt like things were completely over and done between them and as much as Brent had missed his best friend he had known he wouldn’t be able to go back to being friends again without getting back together and he had been stubborn enough to stick to his decision.

He was still mulling all of that over when Jonny came to drag him out for lunch, and it was still on his mind when they already had their food.

“You’ve been absent all day,” Jonny said, interrupting his thoughts. “What’s on your mind?”

Brent bit his lip. “It’s…it’s something Duncs said this weekend.”

“You told Alex and Dylan, right?”

“Yeah and… Dylan asked why we broke up and just… I never realised how different things could have been…”  He trailed off but Jonny waited patiently for him to continue. Brent closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “The thing is we were good together. Real good. And even if we were young and made our fair share of mistakes, I think we would have worked. I just… I didn’t want him to miss out and I thought I did the right thing when I let him go. I wanted to take it back, but he went off to college and I thought I had lost him.”

He paused again to take another deep breath.

“But?” Jonny prompted gently.

“He told me this weekend that he would have come back if I had said anything.”

Jonny was silent for a moment, before he said, “Remember how Patrick and I got back together?”

“I don’t think I could forget.” Brent raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah well, before that I had been beating myself up about how I made the wrong choice, and I thought I would never get the chance to make things right.”

“I remember that part as well.” And that was when Brent got it. “You’re saying I should talk to him; see if we still have a chance.”

“Yes.” Jonny nodded. “If you really were as good together as you say, and if you’re really as close again as it seems you are, you should at least clear this up, talk it out and see where you’re standing now.”

Brent had to think for a moment. “And what if there is no chance?”

“Then you have at least tried. I’ve seen you since you two met again, and he’s good for you. Maybe you two decide that you’re better off as friends, but then you have at least cleared it up and you know once and for all where you stand.”

“Yeah. I…I think I’ll do that.”

Jonny smiled, and Brent felt like a weight had lifted off his shoulders. Maybe there was still hope after all these years.

 

A few blocks away Duncan was having a similar conversation with Sharpy.

“You know, all of freshman year it took everything not to call him and ask him to take me back, but he had made that decision and I respected that,” he said. “Just to find out now that he was waiting for that call. And I don’t regret getting married and having Dylan or the divorce. But…I didn’t have to lose one of the best things in my life, but I did.”

“He’s back in your life though, isn’t he?”

“I…yeah. And…” Duncan trailed off, unsure what he even wanted to say.

“And what?” Sharpy asked. “Has he made it clear that nothing’s ever happening with you again?”

Duncan sighed. “He hasn’t. On the contrary. I invited him over to watch the Hawks game the weekend before last, and… and I think we almost kissed.”

“Well that’s a good sign, isn’t it?”

“I know but… what if it was a spur of the moment thing. What if he didn’t actually want to, and I misinterpreted him?”

“Then you should still try to talk. You deserve to know where you stand. Both of you.”

“Maybe we do.”

“Listen, I saw how broken up you were about him. That wasn’t just teenage drama. That was real heartbreak. I stopped you from calling him often enough. It’s been ages, but you obviously still have feelings for him. If there’s any chance for the two of you, you should take it and try to figure things out. Life doesn’t always give you a second chance, so you need to take it.”

“I just don’t want to lose him again.”

“You don’t know that you will. Think about it. And unless you’re a hundred percent certain that things won’t work out talk to him and work things out together. The way I see it that was never the problem with you two.”

Duncan only nodded thoughtfully. If anything it would provide closure.

 

But he couldn’t even begin to muster his courage, because that same evening there was a knock on his door and Brent stood in front of him.

He looked nervous, and judging by the state of his hair he had been worrying for quite a while.

“Hey,” Brent said. “Can we talk?”

“Of course.” Duncan stepped back to let him in and Brent followed, fingers twitching nervously at his side.

Duncan stopped by the kitchen to get Brent a glass of water before they sat down in the living room.

Brent turned the glass in his hands and didn’t say anything for a long moment. But Duncan could be patient, and for Brent he was willing to be even more patient than usual.

“So I’ve been thinking about what you said at dinner the other day,” Brent finally said. “About how you would have come back if I had said anything.”

Duncan nodded. “It was all I wished for. I don’t even know how often I almost called you that first year to beg you to take me back.”

“As I said, I would have.” Brent smiled ruefully. “But I guess it wasn’t supposed to happen.”

“I guess not.” Duncan swallowed. “So where does that leave us now?”

Brent sighed. “That’s what I’ve been asking myself as well,” he said. “And… you know it’s been great having you back in my life, and I… I guess I never realised just how good we were together. How good we still are together, I guess. And… I don’t know how you’re thinking about all of this but I’d like to give us another chance. If you’re up for it I mean.”

He looked Duncan in the eye, and there was so much emotion in that look that it took Duncan’s breath away. They had to talk first, he reminded himself. But it was hard to focus on that instead of just leaning in and kissing Brent.

He swallowed down the urge and said, “I…I’d like that, too. I know a lot of things have happened, but… I don’t think I was ever quite over you. I’m glad I got to be Dylan’s dad and everything, but… yeah…”

Brent’s eyes widened at the admission, and then instead of saying anything he was surging forward, grabbing Duncan’s face in both of his hands and mashing their lips together.

There was desperation behind it, and Duncan welcomed him eagerly, his arms wrapping around Brent’s body to pull him as close as he could. Brent’s lips were pressing against his, moving eagerly, maybe a little sloppier than Duncan would have imagined, but Duncan could feel Brent’s body pressed against his, and his hands sliding into his hair, tugging a little on the strands, and it didn’t matter. He tilted his head to fit their mouths even more perfectly together, and Brent, always quick to get with the programme, reacted immediately and slipped his tongue into Duncan’s mouth.

It wasn’t quite the way Duncan remembered, but maybe that was what made it perfect.

 

Brent woke up in a bed that wasn’t his own. Light was streaming through the curtains, and it took him a moment to remember where he was and who the arm belonged to that lay heavy across his chest.

He turned his head to the side and looked right at Duncan, still fast asleep. He mumbled something in his sleep, and Brent had to smile. He could get used to this view.

Eventually Duncan groaned into his shoulder, and asked, “Do we have to get up?”

Brent chuckled. “I think we do, babe.”

“Ugh. Can’t we skip work?”

“All these years and you still want to skip things.” Brent had to fight the urge to smile fondly, but he gave up when Duncan opened one eye to look at him.

“It’s not like ya ever complained.”

Brent laughed and leaned in to press a closed-mouthed kiss to Duncan’s lips. “It’s not like I ever had reason to.”

“Ya think I can’t make it worth your while?” Duncan raised a challenging eyebrow.

“Oh I don’t doubt it for a second. But we ain’t teenagers anymore.”

Duncan rolled his eyes at him. “Okay okay, we’re getting up.”

“Good.” Brent grinned. “And for that you even get to shower with me.”

He leaned in for another peck on Duncan’s mouth, before he rolled out of bed and walked towards the bathroom, listening to Duncan scramble after him.

 

By the time their dads told them they were dating again, Dylan and Alex had long figured it out.

It wasn’t like they were being subtle, with all the lunches together, and the hanging out together to watch the game that inevitably ended in whoever was visiting the other spending the night.

Really, Dylan wasn’t sure what their dads thought, but neither of them was that dumb. And with Alex still living with Brent, it wasn’t like he wouldn’t realise that Dylan’s dad had a toothbrush at their place now, or who the clothes in the laundry that belonged to neither him nor Brent belonged to.

 

So when they had another family dinner with all four of them and their dads told them that they were dating again, all Dylan could say was, “Duh.”

His dad exchanged a confused look with Brent, before he asked, “What do you mean, duh?”

“You haven’t exactly been subtle,” Alex said. “We figured it out weeks ago.”

Brent blinked. “Huh, I didn’t expect that.”

“Give us some credit.” Dylan rolled his eyes. “We’re not children anymore, and we’re not dumb either. It was kinda obvious.”

“You never said anything,” Dylan’s dad said after a moment.

“We figured you’d tell us eventually, so we decided to wait.” Alex shrugged. “We would have said something if you kept us waiting too long.”

Brent laughed. “Well I guess then we worried for nothing.”

“We’re happy for you,” Alex said. “We really are. There was never anything to worry about.”

“We just didn’t want to make it weird for the two of you,” Dylan’s dad said.

“That ship sailed when you told us you were high school sweethearts,” Dylan said with an eye roll. “And that didn’t change a thing for us.”

Dylan’s dad looked a little taken aback at that, while Brent laughed.

“Really we could have thought of that, babe,” he said to Dylan’s dad, who finally shook his head and smiled as well.

And later when they were clearing the table Dylan watched the two of them and the easy way they moved around each other, like they always knew where the other was and what he would do next. And when Dylan caught Alex’ smile across the kitchen he knew that things were good.


End file.
